Global Warming : A local problem

According to an international study released by the carbon Disclosure Initiative, issued Tuesday (13 March 2012), South Africa will face serious water problems in the near future.

In fact, their study found that 18 years from now we will have a 17% (or 2700 billion litres) shortfall between water supply and national demand. That means we will need 14 Hartbeespoortdams more water than we have.

Mywheather2.com is a website that records global weather patterns over the last 2 decades and according to their records the average daytime high in Rustenburg during the month of March was 29 degrees Celsius. Recently the temperatures in March have soared up to 37 degrees celsius!!! Rustenburg is ever expanding in agriculture, mining and housing; soon these sectors will have to make some tough compromises in order to survive.

In the meantime, the government is hoping to attract about R25-billion from foreign investors to help revive its ageing water infrastructure, says Water Affairs Minister Edna Molewa (14 March 2012). A total of R 75-billion was earmarked in last month’s national budget for building new and revamping old water and sanitation infrastructure over the next three years.

The possibility of co-funding, using foreign capital , is also being considered, a move that would give the department far more bang for its buck. Molewa said the department was in the final stages of completing a 10-15 year plan for the country’s water infrastructure needs, and putting a business plan in place.